Where Are They Now: John Anderson

2012 was the 30th anniversary of the success of "Swingin", the signature song of Country legend John Anderson. So it's fitting that he reappears this year with a re-boot of the song alongside Colt Ford. Thanks to John Davison's blog earlier this week, we got to see the video for the first time.

I'll never forget the first time I heard John. What a different voice! He sang about the working man's life and worries. "I'm Just An Old Chunk of Coal" was a whole new sound. Then in 1980, he shook Country Music up with a fun and lively "Swingin'". Everyone knew the words. I bet you still do!

His music career floundered a bit heading into the '90's until 1991's "Straight Tequila Night" went number one. Still one of my favorite songs. And then, he re-solidified himself with the blockbuster album "Seminole Wind",  one of the hottest albums in Country Music history.

John's last top 30 Country single came in 1997. "Somebody Slap Me" was funny and just plain cool. So much so, that Terri Clark came out with a great impersonation of John singing it!  Then, the brakes were put on his career.

So what else has John Anderson been up to?

Well, he's been pretty busy! Last year, he put out a song and video for "Willie's Guitar" with Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard and he toured. What you may not know about John Anderson is he is a songwriter. He has been doing a lot of that lately, co-writing with the likes of Jerrod Niemann, John Rich, Shawn Camp and the legendary Dean Dillon.

Anderson became an honorary member of the Musikmafia (formed by Big & Rich) and is still active with them. He likes to perform on the Opry stage a few times a year when not touring or writing. He's fairly low-key, but will pop up , like he did with Colt Ford, to remind you he's still kicking!